Abstract

When prophylactic or targeted pharmacotherapy is needed in aquatic animals, most treatment plans rely on the addition of pharmaceuticals to the feed or water. However, drug treatment methods such as these harbor risks for the environment and public health, as excess accumulation of the drug may enter waterways, thereby potentially exposing non-target individuals and species to the toxic effects of the drug. Furthermore, the individual treatment of fish using injections or oral dosing is impractical for management of disease epizootics in large collections. However, the technique of bioencapsulating a drug within a food source (live brine shrimp, Artemia sp.) has been used for the treatment of susceptible infectious diseases in aquatic animals with significantly less time invested. However, bioaccumulation is often performed based on anecdotal information on a few drugs. Here, we report initial evaluations of bioaccumulation of metronidazole, fenbendazole, and praziquantel in adult brine shrimp. Drug uptake was successful for each of the three drugs. Metronidazole and fenbendazole both displayed a biphasic pattern of bioaccumulation, while praziquantel had no apparent consistent patterns. It can be concluded that metronidazole and fenbendazole can bioaccumulate in adult brine shrimp, but praziquantel may not be reliable enough as a therapeutic option.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the aquarists at the Ripley's aquariums for their professional support involved in this project.